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Best of UNICEF Research 2015

The Best of UNICEF Research, now in its third year, showcases and recognizes high-quality, high-impact research being done in the organization. The intention of the project is to communicate that UNICEF is often engaged in supporting a range of cutting-edge research to improve the lives of children. Yet this is often poorly known. The ‘Best of UNICEF Research’ initiative aims to change this perception. This publication presents summaries of twelve of the projects submitted to the 2015 Best of UNICEF Research competition which illustrate the range of research being undertaken. The 12 projects in the final selection cover many of the ‘traditional’ areas of UNICEF work (health, nutrition, sanitation and education), while also highlighting issues that have more recently gained prominence within the global policy agenda, such as social transfers, violence against children and school bullying, and various forms of inequality or exclusion

Lesotho: Child grants in Lesotho - Poverty relief that works

Despite significant economic growth over the past two decades, a large proportion of Lesotho’s population remains locked in poverty. In 2010, an estimated 57 per cent of households lived below the basic needs poverty line of $1.08 per day, while 34 per cent lived below the food poverty line of $0.61 per day. Levels of chronic malnutrition are at 40 per cent and 39 per cent of Basotho under-fives suffer from stunting. The country also has one of the highest HIV/AIDS rates in the world (23 per cent). To compound these problems, in 2011 and 2012, floods, late rains and early frost reduced the cereal harvest to a third of the national average.